Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Plumbing, Restaurants, and Burgers! Oh My!


If you have ever had a day that seemed that it wouldn't end, that was me last night.  We noticed over a few days that the water pressure in our home seemed to be getting weaker by the day.  Finally when it takes FOREVER just to wash dishes or fill a pot with water, it's time to check into things.  We just had a brand new water line installed the week after we got here because of a MAJOR, very expensive leak just feet ahead of the main water pipe that leads into the house.  So, NOT getting water is not acceptable $2000.00 later. 

We needed to find out what the problem was.  The city comes out and checks the pressure and all is well.  ????? By the time we get ready for bed, there is virtually no flow coming from the kitchen tap....I mean it was so little that a bird would have been upset over a missed bath!  AND it was close to midnight....:-(.



Well, since we don't know what is wrong, we had to take the whole contraption off and try to find out; which by the way was no easy task. The water is very hard here.  Harder than in years past and seems to have a lot of calcium in the water now.
First order of business is to see if we can soak it and get some of the build up out of the mixer mechanism inside the faucet.  But just in case, we visited the local Wal-Mart super store and picked up a replacement.  Thank God for 24 hour stores!  I hate waking up to a dirty kitchen and the dishes were still not done yet:-(.



Since I cannot reach high enough to do the job, you know who (Scootard) was on a mission to get it done.



After a lot struggle, pulling and grunting, Scootard was able to pull the fixture off.  We soaked it in the CLR solution, scrubbed with a wire brush, soaked some more, ran water through it, blew air through it and reassembled it in hopes that it would get water flow and then take the new fixture back to the store.  


I went to bed exhausted and slept like a log.  It's amazing how watching someone else work so hard can wear you out! ha  I woke up to a clear, beautiful fall day.  The trees are mostly bear now.  Not the lush green that was still present when we arrived over two months ago.  


It's been several days since Ms Vickey and I went out for a spin and the days are getting chilly! So, I decided to saddle up and ride.


There is an historic restuarant that is known for its food located at the cross section of these roads called "Meers".  It is also located in Meers Oklahoma.  I believe the restaurant was established in 1901.  They have good food if you can get a seat.




The original building which you see here has been moved from its original site and some updates had to be made in order for it to be in code.  The interior used to be covered with business cards.  Even the ceiling and walls were covered.  They closed for a bit and when they reopened, it had a heating unit, added room and all of the cards were gone by order of the fire marshall I suppose.   




It had been over a year since I was here last and was anxious to get inside and have some lunch.  And then.......





WHAT!???  We came all this way and you don't want my visa???  UGH!  I'm starving by now......:-(.  Ok, back to town I guess for some food. 




On the way back to town, we saw this forgotten restuarant.  Scootard had not been and I had, but wasn't too impressed with the food.  However, it had been over 5 years, so maybe they won't let me down this time.  Ann's Country Kitchen.


Wow, that was some wicked gravel I had to ride over.  Glad to make it inside where it's warmer....:-)



Scootard is excited about his lunch coming....haha.  See the "glee"?  haha. 




We ordered the buffulo burgers and I was sure they were going to be dry.  Not everyone can cook this the right way, although I must admit I am one of the ones who can.....:-)


And don't forget the onion rings.....:-).  Scootard found one shaped like a "Q" and thought that was funny......


After lunch, we (he) had desert.  Italian Cream cake was the order of the day.  I was told that it was wonderful.  I passed on desert as I found it hard to even finish my lunch.  Scootard was estatic probably about not having to share with me....haha.  We should write a movie called "Scootard Sees A Q"......haha



and then it was time to make the long trip home as the weather was starting to turn chilly....




well, not that long, but the temperature dropped from 68F (19c) to 16c (65F) which is chilly when you are moving at 70 miles per hour.  We hope to be able to get a little more riding in before we leave.  Our leaving keeps getting pushed back further. I guess we will eventually get back to Canada....

See ya next time!




7 comments:

Pastor Chris said...

That bison was enough for lunch and dinner. Although lunch was late and we left Ann's at about 4:00 I had a Klondike bar for dinner and am not in the least hungry..........

Trobairitz said...

Fixing the faucet doesn't sound like much fun. Our water is pretty hard too combined with old pipes and hubby is always having to take the aerators off the faucets and clean the gunk out.

I am glad you had a nice sunny day for a ride even if it was a little chilly. Bummer the restaurant you wanted to go to didn't take cards. And in this day and age I don't think a lot of people carry cash. Sounds like it worked out though.

Unknown said...

Pat:

I am like you. I get tired just standing there and watching.

we had a problem with our pipes and had most of them changed to PEX last year. I do worry about our old drains, but so far they seem okay

Don't hurry back, you are going to get soaked. Stand under your hose and you will see what I mean.

And don't forget to leave your scooters down there, 'cause you know what's going to happen when you don't have them to use, don't you ? and we are all going to thank you later

bob
Riding the Wet Coast
My Flickr // My YouTube


Tripping Sister! said...

bob,

You are too funny. I'm not sure of what would happen, but we do intend to leave them since the weather is so treacherous there in Canada and we will be right back here in May. At least we think we will be. We have been told that it is going to be a "dry" cold winterif winter every really gets here unlike in BC.

Unknown said...

Hello, Patricia. It looks like your dear friend, Scootard, got very hungry fixing those pipes. CLR solution is very handy. This can help get rid of heavy duty rust stains. However, you should not forget to wear gloves when doing this method, because it contains harsh chemicals.
- Levi Eslinger

Unknown said...

Thank you for 24-hour stores indeed! It really is convenient that there are open stores you can get emergency supplies in the middle of the night! Scootard saved the night for you too! Good thing he was able to fix the plumbing.

Elia Lester

Tripping Sister! said...

Elia,
We were very fortunate that a Wal-mart super store was right around the corner from the house; not even a mile away. It would have been a mess otherwise!